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The Enquirer
May 1, 2008
Editorial: Research Ban Would Hurt Ohio
A bill being considered in the Ohio Senate, meant to ban human cloning, would do far more than that. It would weaken the state's push, through its new economic stimulus package, to attract top biomedical researchers. And it would send a message, accurate or not, that the state isn't really serious about developing cutting-edge science and the jobs that come with it.
Lawmakers should reject the legislation, which itself is essentially a clone of an earlier, equally misguided attempt to restrict scientific research.
Proposed by Sen. Stephen Buehrer, R-Delta, the bill would impose criminal penalties on anyone who attempts human cloning in any form, for therapeutic or reproductive use. In essence it bans the technique of "somatic cell nuclear transfer," in which the nucleus of an egg is replaced with the nucleus of another cell.
This would prevent the artificial creation of a human being. But it also would virtually rule out therapeutic genetic techniques. It would remove a major tool to create personalized stem cells lines, keyed to an individual's DNA, that could be used to cure specific diseases in that person.
Dr. Arnold W. Strauss, medical director of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, told a Senate committee the ban would keep Ohio scientists from finding new treatments for several diseases with genetic origins.
"Generating patient-specific stem cells, that is, human cells that contain those genetic mistakes ... in a Petri dish is not cloning of a human," he said.
As others testified, this research is vital to the kind of breakthroughs Ohio is investing heavily to produce. The state has smartly set the stage with grants, tax policies, capital formation and other initiatives. Bioscience now is its fastest-growing industry. Strauss said it drives 15,000 jobs in Cincinnati alone. The ban would signal "that Ohio is a hostile environment for productive biomedical research," he said.
This is a debate that should have been settled by now. In 2005, after voters approved the "Third Frontier" high-tech initiative, lawmakers attempted to insert a similar ban into its implementation law. Then-Gov. Bob Taft, who had already issued an executive order to govern such research, wisely vowed to veto any such measure.
If the General Assembly is so foolhardy as to pass this legislation, Gov. Ted Strickland should follow his predecessor's lead and slap it down. Ohio holds great promise as a center for research that could strengthen the state's economy and benefit many lives. Lawmakers should let the scientists do the science.
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